Mitsotakis: Greece to become a leading country in smart – responsible use of artificial intelligence for public services

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in his opening remarks during a discussion on Thursday with Elevenlabs CEO Mati Staniszewski at the Panathenea 2026 festival, congratulated the organizers and pointed out that it was in the same venue, the Zappeion, where Greece signed its Treaty of Accession to the European Union as the 10th member state.

“It is particularly symbolic that today we are speaking here about artificial intelligence, about the future, about the dynamic Greek startup ecosystem, and about the partnerships we can create with remarkable companies such as ElevenLabs. What we did today was expand the collaborations we have already established with leading AI companies, with the goal of improving public services,” the prime minister said.

“We are bringing in one of the leading – if not the leading – voice AI chatbot companies in the world and trying to integrate its technologies into the delivery of public services through the Gov.gr platform,” he said, explaining that instead of typing requests, citizens will simply speak to the website and receive meaningful answers through constructive conversations.

Mitsotakis stated that when he took office in 2019, Greece was lagging technologically at every level. “The delivery of public services was disastrous, there was enormous bureaucracy, and citizens constantly complained about the way they interacted with the state. So we made the digital transformation of the state our top priority. And I believe we managed to surpass many European countries in terms of providing a very user-friendly and citizen-oriented interface with the state through Gov.gr. I consider this a major success, but obviously it was only the beginning.”
He added that when he first began considering artificial intelligence and its transformative impact on government operations a few years ago, he realized it represented “an opportunity for a dramatic increase in productivity in the way the state functions.”

He said the goal is for Greece to become a leading country in the smart and responsible use of artificial intelligence for public services. He also referred to the development of sovereign AI infrastructure that would capitalize on investment interest in the country, whether through the new supercomputer under construction in Lavrio or through encouraging major data giga-factories such as the project promoted by the Public Power Corporation in Western Macedonia. “We want to be part of the sovereign European infrastructure space,” he stressed, adding that Greece offers sufficient investment opportunities to attract interest in such projects.

He also underlined concerns about the social impact of AI technologies: “As a leader who has undertaken the effort to regulate children’s and teenagers’ access to social media, because doom scrolling is a reality and deprives our children and adolescents of time and the ability to develop social skills, I believe the same will apply to voice AI agents and companions that interact with children and teenagers, creating the illusion of a relationship that substitutes for human relationships. For me, this is simply unacceptable.”

“I therefore believe that the next major front, after addressing the issue of social media, will be examining how we create a safe environment for children and teenagers to use artificial intelligence,” he added.

He noted that such applications are already being tested in Greek schools. “For example, we are cooperating with OpenAI to provide tools that, within a regulated environment, will help children learn better and help teachers manage their workload more effectively.”

At the same time, he emphasized that every technological revolution also has a darker side that requires proper management and regulation.

amna.gr